Heiner Brau has roots in Germany (Henryk Olik, the owner/founder/brewer is originally from Nuremberg) and Louisiana (he worked at the state’s flagship brewery, Abita, before founding his own place). The brewery figured prominently in a New York Times piece about Louisiana microbreweries last year.

Heiner’s two year-round brews are classic German styles: a kolsch and a marzen, or oktoberfest. We drank the marzen.

It pours a nice, very clear, light amber that looks inviting. The nose is super perfumey at first. The more you stay on it, though, the more sourdough bread you get.

The taste is refreshing and light-bodied (as expected for the style) up front, but it is well-constructed and balanced, and there is a definite hop character in the back. A solid expression of the style.

Lazy Magnolia followed a well-trodden path to success — accidental homebrewers go pro. The proprietors are a husband-and-wife duo who now own and operate Mississippi’s first modern-era craft brewery. Their flagship beer is the Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale, which is believed to be the first beer in the world brewed with roasted pecans (according to the brewery).

It pours a nice, clear-yet-dark amber with an off-white head. The nose has some malty sweetness mixed with yeasty, bready sourness and a hint of hops.

The taste has a pleasant nutty sweetness up front with a crisp, hoppy finish. It has good carbonation throughout and a nice mouthfeel.